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Back The Black Earth Save as PDF
Chapters (56)
  1. Cover
  2. THE BLACK EARTH
  3. Dedication
  4. Contents
  5. BOOK I
  6. CHAPTER ONE
  7. CHAPTER TWO
  8. CHAPTER THREE
  9. CHAPTER FOUR
  10. CHAPTER FIVE
  11. CHAPTER SIX
  12. CHAPTER SEVEN
  13. BOOK II
  14. CHAPTER EIGHT
  15. CHAPTER NINE
  16. CHAPTER TEN
  17. CHAPTER ELEVEN
  18. CHAPTER TWELVE
  19. CHAPTER THIRTEEN
  20. CHAPTER FOURTEEN
  21. CHAPTER FIFTEEN
  22. CHAPTER SIXTEEN
  23. CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
  24. CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
  25. CHAPTER NINETEEN
  26. CHAPTER TWENTY
  27. BOOK III
  28. CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
  29. CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
  30. CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
  31. CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
  32. CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
  33. CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
  34. CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
  35. CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
  36. CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
  37. CHAPTER THIRTY
  38. CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
  39. CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
  40. CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
  41. CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
  42. BOOK IV
  43. CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
  44. CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
  45. CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
  46. CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
  47. CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
  48. CHAPTER FORTY
  49. CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
  50. CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
  51. CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
  52. CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
  53. CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
  54. About the Author
  55. By Philip Kazan
  56. Copyright

The fighters crouch and start firing at a point somewhere behind Zoë, who has let go of Efi’s corpse and thrown herself down onto the dirty grass. Another bullet buzzes very close to her and wisps of grass drift through the air. She turns her head to the right and sees Feathers, arms flung wide, eyes glaring in terror, her hair splayed out, its livid yellow turned more garish by the spray of fresh blood. Air is gurgling and whistling through a small hole just below her collarbone and every time she breathes, a jet of blood shoots up out of the wound. One hand is clenched around the butt of her pistol, the other …

Zoë crawls over to Feathers and grabs her left hand. The woman’s fingers are clenched so tightly around the cap badge that her nails are drawing blood from her own flesh. Zoë starts to pry the fingers loose. Feathers gasps and turns, her terrified gaze fixing itself on Zoë. She drops the pistol and, with a great effort, turns on her side and wraps her free hand around Zoë’s.

‘I …’ Feathers mews like a blind kitten. ‘I …’ Her hand tightens, and Zoë realises the dying woman thinks she is being comforted.

‘It’s all right,’ she says. ‘It’s all right, Feathers. You’ll be fine.’ All the time, her fingers are trying to work the other woman’s free, but she can’t move them. Feathers’ eyes are fixed on hers; her mouth is a blood-flecked circle.

‘It’s all right …’ Zoë feels herself begin to cry. ‘You stupid, stupid girl! Go easy. It’s all right. Go easy, Feathers.’

Feathers starts to choke. She lets go of Zoë’s hand and starts to tear feebly at her blouse, her eyes all the while fixed on Zoë’s, and then, in a second, she is gone. Zoë becomes aware of bullets kicking up the earth all around them. Feathers’ fist is still clenched fiercely around the badge. A bullet hits her corpse and it jolts. The fighters in front of Zoë are firing from behind the mound of earth and the carriers. She can’t see the others. She only sees a gap between two houses, and she scrambles to her feet and runs, like a madwoman, like an animal. Bullets sizzle and buzz through the air around her but she has reached the opening, she is through.

CHAPTER FORTY-THREE